Live Updates from the Relief Mission
Submitted by rajat on Tue, 2009-10-06 18:27
Please find the latest information about the work Sankalp is doing in the disaster affected area here.
Submitted by Lisha on Sat, 2009-05-09 12:41
 The early history of British expansion in India was characterised by the co-existence of two approaches towards the existing princely states. The first was a policy of annexation, where the British sought to forcibly absorb the Indian princely states into the provinces which constituted their Empire in India. The second was a policy of indirect rule, where the British assumed suzerainty and paramountcy over princely states, but conceded some degree of sovereignty to them. ..
Submitted by Lisha on Mon, 2009-02-02 15:38
 India, a nation that has undergone complete transformation after it got independence from the British Rule. But somehow the influence from the West never ceased to affect our culture and the growth of the Nation. The three major transforms taken from the entire lot is the way Mobiles, Cars and Malls have brought to the India nationality.
Submitted by Lisha on Thu, 2008-09-18 20:43
The story before: The positive role that dairying could play in providing income and employment opportunity was clear to policy-makers long time back and a set of measures were put in place to develop and protect the dairy industry. Immediately after India gained independence, the Milk Control Board was set up which controlled the supply and distribution chains.
Submitted by Lisha on Tue, 2008-08-05 17:30
 India and space laws: A millennium perspective
THE LAUNCH of Sputnik 1 by the former Soviet Union in 1957, followed by a similar feat by the U. S., within a few months, heralded the birth of the space age. The development and application of space technology has since made a tremendous global impact in diversified fields including social, economic, cultural and scientific.
Submitted by Lisha on Wed, 2008-04-30 20:24
 India is a country with a diversity of languages. Out of more than one thousand mother tongues, only eighteen languages are included in the eighth schedule of the Indian Constitution. Development of a particular state or region, to a very great extent, depends on the development of its regional language. This was an important reason given at the time of the formation of linguistic states, though many criticized such a linguistic “division” or “re-organization”.
Submitted by rajat on Fri, 2008-03-28 11:19
 Past two decades have seen an unprecedented rise in the number of farmer suicides in our country. Across the nation, lacks of farmers have taken their lives in these years. Though this process is on for almost 2 decades, but it is only now that the nation is getting to know the seriousness and the extent of it. We are going through the worst ever farm crisis in the history of our nation.
Submitted by Lisha on Wed, 2008-03-12 18:16
 3rd December 1984 Shortly after midnight poison gas leaked from a factory in Bhopal, India, owned by the Union Carbide Corporation. There was no warning, none of the plant's safety systems were working. In the city people were sleeping. They woke in darkness to the sound of screams with the gases burning their eyes, noses and mouths. They began retching and coughing up froth streaked with blood. Whole neighbourhoods fled in panic, some were trampled, others convulsed and fell dead. People lost control of their bowels and bladders as they ran. Within hours thousands of dead bodies lay in the streets.
Submitted by Lisha on Tue, 2008-02-19 18:14
It is hard to imagine today that there existed a time in independent India when the then Prime Minister of the country, Sw. Lal Bahadur Shastriji had to appeal to the nation to skip one meal a day. Our nation saw one of the darkest era when we faced acute shortage of food in the 60s. Ships from America brought in bad quality grain as charity to feel us and the Nation battled with the problems of rising prices and hunger.
Submitted by rajat on Tue, 2008-01-29 00:31
 The Emergency in India denotes the 21-month period between June 25, 1975 and March 21, 1977 when President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, upon advice by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, declared a State of Emergency in India under Article 352 of the Constitution of India, effectively bestowing on her the power to rule by decree, suspending elections and civil liberties. It is one of the most controversial periods in the history of independent India. During the Emergency, many opposition leaders were jailed, freedom of press was suspended and powers of the judiciary were curtailed
Submitted by rajat on Mon, 2007-12-31 15:07
 The Ancient Legend
In India there is an ancient legend about a girl, Amrita Devi, who died trying to protect the trees that surrounded her village. The story recounts a time when the local Maharajah's tree cutters arrived to cut the villager's trees for wood for his new fortress. Amrita, with others, jumped in front of the trees and hugged them. In some versions of the tale their dramatic efforts prevented the forest's destruction; in others Amrita dies in her valiant attempt.
Submitted by aurora on Thu, 2009-10-22 18:23
 The All India Muslim League (AIML) was formed in Dhaka in 1906 by Muslims who were suspicious of the Hindu-majority Indian National Congress. They complained that Muslim members did not have the same rights as Hindu members. A number of different scenarios were proposed at various times. Among the first to make the demand for a separate state was the writer/philosopher Allama Iqbal, who, in his presidential address to the 1930 convention of the Muslim League said that a separate nation for Muslims was essential in an otherwise Hindu-dominated subcontinent.
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The final distribution is done
The final round of distribution of utensils was carried out on 15th Novemeber 2009 at Ashraya Colony on the outskirts of Raichur. With this all work on filed in project Sparsh draws to a close
Till date...
On sunday, the volunteers visited Katarki village in Manvi Taluk of Raichur district. TungaBhadra river is just 2-3 kms away from the village. The extent of damage was pretty bad. Following the previous method of going from one home to the other and see the extent of damage, the volunteers were doing their assessment when one person started shouting and demanded more material. This eventually led to a chaos which made the volunteers to leave the village immediately. In total 59 sets of utensils, 50 blankets, 6 shawls and 5 sarees were given out in this village after visiting more than 100 homes here.
Next the volunteers went to Daddala village. This looked even closer to the river. Almost the entire village had been destroyed. When they visited the homes, and in most cases there were no homes. After visiting more than 120 homes, coupons were given to 91 people and materials were distributed to them. One of the volunteer claimed this was the worst affected village he had seen.
On the way back, another few sets were given out to some people. In total 157 sets were distributed on Sunday. On both days put together, 184 sets were distributed with at least 90% going to genuinely needy people.
There is still materials left which is for close enough to be given to 90 families. They have been stored in Raichur. They will be distributed by next weekend.
As on today (saturday,31/10)
Today 27 sets of utensils ahve been distributed in Akshala village. The remaining utensils will be distributed tomorrow.
Final phase
73 sarees have been transported today. About 4 Volunteers from our organization will be involved in the final phase of the distribution of the relief material spread over the weekend.
250 sets distributed
Over 2 days, our volunteer teams have been working to find the most needy families and have distributed 250 sets of utensils in villages in Raichur district and also in one village in Andhra Pradesh
150 more sets on Saturday
Another set of 150 utensils have been dispatched on Saturday night with 2 volunteers. Again KSRTC has been our mode of transport
More relief material dispatched
Around 353 sets of utensils have been dispatched by KSRTC bus today. Along with the utensils, 60 shawls and 50 blankets have been dispatched. They are expected to reach Raichur tomorrow.
500 more sets of utensils
500 more sets of utensils will be dispatched to Raichur in batches of two, one tomorrow and the other on day after tomorrow along with 2 groups of volunteers.
More utensils
We will be sending more utensils to the flood affected areas near Raichur the coming weekend, as there are reports of food and clothing have reached in sufficient quantities.
Flood Relief Update: 13th October
Utter suffering
Where are the houses?
Visiting the village of Pannur more than 60 kms away from Raichur the volunteer from our side after walking through a huge pile of rubble announced, we will go to each house and give tokens. The relief worker from local area gently spoke - "Sir there are no houses here anymore". The realization struck then. The volunteer climbed a broken wall to see hundreds of shattered homes all around. The destruction was complete and the area nothing but a pile of rubble. 3 houses of a total of 300+ were still standing!
The Irony
When we visited the village of Ragunathanahalli we had to drive through 2 badly damaged bridges. Fortunately we were on bikes or else reaching there was impossible. We went to look at the damage on one side of the village. House after house we saw how walls had come down. We came face to face with people who had lost all their belongings under the rubble. Families keenly showed us the damage hoping to receive some help. By the time we came back to the road, our companions (local volunteers) requested us not to give any material to these houses. They told us that damage was far greater on the other side that they had visited. It did not make sense to us. We had seen such gruesome destruction and we were told that these people did not need help? Somehow we decided to accept the idea of starting to distribute the relief from the other side. Soon the thinking changed! We were dumbstruck to see what we saw on the other side. The people on the side that we had visited had some jewelry on them. They had a few wall collapses but they had shelter. On the other side nothing remained. Water had carried with itself all the belongings.
We left after having distributed 75 sets. Now we knew the difference between the needy and the most needy!
Stories from the field
The following are few of the experiences our Volunteers has to share.
Improper Distribution
One thing we realized in the first day of the survey of the area was the gross inappropriateness of the distribution strategy that many people were adoption. We saw vehicles coming from Bangalore who used to park anywhere and start providing the relief material to the people who were crowding outside the door. Clearly the stringer and the more influential in the lot were always the beneficiaries. Some families were relatively nearer to the distribution point. they collected multiple sets of goods. Others which were further off received less aid.
Influence of Village Netas
In many villages the people were making use of the lists that the Gram Pradhan had prepared. These lists were doing little good. They were heavily biased on the basis of caste and sect. Some families got helped more and more while the others continued to suffer.
Having seen this we adopted a method suggested by the locals who were helping the victims since day 1. We went on a survey across the village visiting each house. Wherever we say the need we gave the family plastic tokens. Eventually who all had the tokens came to a single common place to collect goods. This was by and large the best way we could figure out to ensure smooth and need based distribution without bias.
Village Accountant: The heard of but rarely seen species
We were told that the village accountant was the govt officer supposed to co-ordinate relief. We just heard of these people but never saw them in the villages. We were told that they were negotiating things in the DHQ while the relief agencies struggled.
Lack of Relief Planning
No one knew who is going where and how much need is there. We had to struggle for 2 days to identify the most needy villages because there was no official process to channelize inbound relief agencies.
Food was supplied
The Govt had taken adequate care to ensure supply of food grains.
Villages where help was provided.
View Disaster Relief in a larger map
Notes
Distribution of utensil sets complete
Today, 75 utensil sets have been distributed to the most needy families of Chicksugur.
Further details are awaited to decide the future plans.
Distribution of utensil sets
Even though 500 utensil sets that were shipped from Bangalore reached Raichur, our volunteers were not successful in distributing the items today. The reasons responsible for the delay were:
In line with the philosophy to ensure material reaches most needy, we have re-assessed the requirement across the villages we were planning to support. The updated plan is as follows:
On the banks of Krishna river, Chicksugur will be receiving the utensils tomorrow.
On the banks of river Tungabhadra, there are villages where it is still impossible to go. People from these villages are living in a number of surrounding villages including Tungabhadra village and ChickManchur. Tomorrow morning, a second batch of volunteers will be visiting these villages to distribute the relief.
After these visits, assessment of the future needs can be given back to the other interested organizations/ individuals.
No rains since last 4 days
Raichur has not received rains since last four days. This ensures that the stagnant waters will soon dry off.
According to the reports from the local sources the chances of an epidemic breakout is quite low.
Sending Goods on Thursday
The first relief supply is set to leave Bangalore by 8:00 PM on Thursday. We are looking at the option of adding towels and more utensils if we get some extra money and saris and dhotis if the contribution is greater.
Contributions by Wednesday
By the end of the day on Wednesday we had a total of approximately Rs 50,000/- was contributed. We went ahead and made use of these funds to get 500 sets of utensils for the affected families. each utensil set has
These items were purchased after very strong market research. Eventually we got these items at a phenomenally low price of ~ Rs 220/- per set. Many whole sellers are providing the utensils at par with the costs and thus we are getting them at roughly 40-50% below retail price.
The items are all made of Stainless Steel. Quality is reasonable and durability a consideration for purchases.
Chickmanchal is next selected village
While the Bangalore volunteers were busy rigging up the funds for the relief materials, the field volunteer was exploring other affected areas. On advise of the DC he proceeded to Chickmanchal. This village has a population of 2000+ individuals (350 families). 80-90% houses are destroyed here. The following requirements were identified there:
Shirt and dhoti: 700 each
Sari and Blouse: 700 each
Towel: 500
Mats: 500
Utesnsil: 500 set
Bedsheet: 500
Shawl: 500
Images will be uploaded shortly.
Fund Collecetion is Proceeding in Full Speed
Entire Wednesday was spent in getting more funds for the relief mission. We have the support of Dhariwal & Sreenivas Chartered Accountants along with MSRIT along with many individual contributors.
Requirements Updated
The requirement of Dhotis and of Saris has been updated to 1000 and 800 respectively. More villages are being surveyed even as we prepare to satisfy the need that has already been assessed.
Requirement Set 1 finalised
- 450-500 Dhotis
- 450-500 Saris
- 1000 Towels
- 250 sets Utensils
2 Plates, 2 Glasses, 2 utensils to cook dal/sambhar and rice, 1 dal spoon and 1 rice spoon per family.
MSRIT Joins In
As always, MSRIT has extended full support. Tomorrow the college will be contributing towards the relief. Thank you MSRIT.
Sparsh Operationalised
Having confirmed the need and the damage, Sankalp has fully operationalised the relief efforts. We are in talks with several oragnisations to participate in the relief work. Individual contributions have also been invited.
People homeless
In Chiksugur more than 50% houses have suffered damage due to the floods. The water rose to as high as 6 feet in some areas. Many houses are so badly destroyed that the occupants have to be housed in a temporary shelter. Food and water has been arranged locally. Reports indicate the supply of blankets in near future by political parties. The need of the hour as indicated by the Gram Pradhan and other locals is Dhotis, Saris, Utensils and Basic Kitchen Supply.
Affected Area Identified
An elaborate discussion with the district administration in order to understand the affected regions has taken place. The outcome is that the district administration has requested us to look after the needs of Chiksugur, a village with 2000 families which is one of the worst affected region of Raichur. The initial investigation of the needs and the damage has been done.
Our Volunteer In Affected Area
In order to ensure that we have correct information and right direction, one of the Volunteers has already reached the affected area.
He has 3 goals:
- Identify the affected areas and the need of the hour.
- Understand the availability of materials from local market to save the transportation overheads.
- Co-ordinate with the District Collector and the Relief Commissioner.
Plan to use the existing network
The StateWide Helpline for blood has ensured that we are well connected with various interior districts of the state. We have small teams of people who have been helping people with blood locally. The same teams are being coordinated with in order to maximise the understanding of the disaster hit area.